1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to Computer-Aided Design and more specifically to a system and method for generating matched contour profiles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Solid modeling software enables the design and manipulation of three-dimensional parts by using shapes and feature descriptors to model a solid part. Typically the shape of the solid part is modified by means of adding a contour to the part and using the contour as a guide to add or remove material. In this manner, a complex part may be designed using relatively simple parts and simple contours.
A problem commonly arises when changing the shape of the solid part. Contour shapes are not automatically adapted to changes in the shape of the solid part, and since the solid part features can depend on the shape of the contour, changing the shape of the solid part can result in a failure of the solid model. The failure could propagate to other design operations that are dependent on the solid part in question. The typical solution is that each time the shape of the solid part changes, the designer has to manually modify shape or contour constraints to repair the solid model. This workflow can be tedious and time consuming when the shape of the part is being modified frequently.
As the foregoing illustrates, what is needed in the art is a way to generate contours that automatically adapt to changes made to the shape of the solid part.